Thanks, I'm an A7 owner and it's hard to disagree with much of that. If/when I do upgrade, it won't be to an A7ii - definitely A7rII (when price goes down) or whatever mid-range offering Sony has to replace the A7ii. For me personally there just wasn't enough in it to justify upgrading. But IBIS + BSI + better AF etc. would be great. I just don't need them all right this minute - these are 'nice-to-haves' rather than essential to my photography.

Also, apparently the 7ii is a bit smarter when it comes to choosing an appropriate minimum shutter speed in Aperture Priority and Auto ISO. (That's a long overdue refinement...)

If I had to choose one starting from scratch I'd probably go with the II - the extra benefits would definitely be worth an extra $600 to me. $1700 minus whatever I could get for my well-used old A7 with a scuff on the sensor filter, that I can not quite do just now. The real debate for me will probably be: discounted 7ii or 7iii?

The A7II is definitely an improved body, no question about it. However, I really don't care about anything except the sensor flare. Unlike others, I don't really want IBIS at the cost of a heavier body. I don't want the improved grip at the cost of a bigger body. As for the mount - If mine becomes an issue, I'll just get a Tough E-mount <$50.
That said, the sensor reflection issue is real and may ultimately force me to upgrade. In and around the city there are always bright light sources at night and rather than instilling confidence, shooting with the A7 triggers doubt, caution, and frustration.

The A7II is definitely an improved body, no question about it. However, I really don't care about anything except the sensor flare. Unlike others, I don't really want IBIS at the cost of a heavier body. I don't want the improved grip at the cost of a bigger body. As for the mount - If mine becomes an issue, I'll just get a Tough E-mount <$50.
That said, the sensor reflection issue is real and may ultimately force me to upgrade. In and around the city there are always bright light sources at night and rather than instilling confidence, shooting with the A7 triggers doubt, caution, and frustration.

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Same here. Sensor flare is my main concern and Photoshop can't barely help here...

As someone who just bought into the A7 system coming from a NEX-6, the extra cost of the A7ii was justifiable considering the benefits over the A7 (sensor flare being #1, IBIS #2, the strengthened mount and improved build #3), especially since I currently shoot mostly alt/legacy glass. Having looong fingers, I don't find the improved grip to be great and I struggle a little with the haptics on the control dials.

But if I already had an A7, I would wait to see what tricks the A7iii had up its sleeve...

I had no intention of getting the A7II either, and was going to wait until the A7RII's price came down from the stratosphere. But then Serhan made me a killer deal on his used A7II, and I couldn't resist. I'm happy that I went for it.

None of my primes have stabilization, so the IBIS gives me a significant hand-holding advantage in low light. The grip and shutter placement were a revelation to me, much better than expected. And the addition of an extra customization button next to the shutter has allowed me to configure the camera much more to my liking (I really dislike having to move the viewfinder from my eye while changing settings). The lens mount is noticeably less mushy. And the AF is significantly better. With the Contax G 90 and Techart adapter the difference really is night and day. I did have a few photos that were ruined by sensor flare on my old A7, so that concern is now gone.

Yes, when I held the two cameras at the same time, I could detect the difference in weight. But I have yet to find the extra weight a problem while carrying the A7II. I mean, we are talking only 4.4 ounces here. And there's no question in my mind that the little extra weight is well worth the additional benefits, as is the larger grip.

As I said, I had no intention of upgrading. There didn't seem to be enough benefits to justify the cost. But I was wrong.

I only managed to afford an A7 and although the A7-II is the camera I'd like (for all the reasons mentioned above: sensor flare control, grip, ibis etc), unfortunately I couldn't afford it at the time. Coming from a nex-5, to a nex-6 and now an A7, there's a night to day difference for me and as far as the A7-II goes, For me the extra 600 euros in my case, are totally justified -I'd had no second thought buying it over the A7 if I could afford it

Whats wrong with me? I had the opportunity to borrow an A7II for a weekend. Returned it monday with the feeling i like my A6000 better

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I enjoy very much shooting with my a6000, and even more so than my a7. I am not sure what I would think compared to an a7ii, but the a6000 is already more compact than the a7, and the a7ii is bigger still.

I was tempted many times to upgrade my A7 although I am pleased with the outcome most of the time...but not all the time, and that's the problem. I almost always can correct (at least try to do so) mistakes when shooting but not camera's defaults and this sensor flare is clearly annoying.
Anyway, if I ever do it will too be for an hypothetic A7III or the A7RII. Ideally I'd love to keep the A7 for its size and lightweight.

Having said that, it is not the camera who makes photos...but the guy behind.

I read on another forum that an A7 owner posted he had his A7 modified, reducing or eliminating the thick sensor stack in order to improve sharpness across the frame with lenses that return mushy edges. The results look impressive and he claimed how happy he did so instead of upgrading the body to an ii version. Would this also rectify the dreaded sensor reflection? An option for A7 owners?
I'm another who is saving for an A7ii upgrade.

I read on another forum that an A7 owner posted he had his A7 modified, reducing or eliminating the thick sensor stack in order to improve sharpness across the frame with lenses that return mushy edges. The results look impressive and he claimed how happy he did so instead of upgrading the body to an ii version. Would this also rectify the dreaded sensor reflection? An option for A7 owners?
I'm another who is saving for an A7ii upgrade.

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Nope. I saw this come up on FredMiranda a long while ago. There was a response from someone at KolariVision (converter company) that said the improvement was mainly for legacy lenses. Most significant improvement was on wide angle lenses made for rangefinders. Any other benefits are not claimed. In fact it actually creates a softer image on some native lenses ( LensRentals.com - A Thinner Sensor Stack ) Believe me, if they could claim it reduced reflections, they would as there are far more customers that want to get rid of Sensor reflections than want to use wide angle rangefinder lenses.

I had no intention of getting the A7II either, and was going to wait until the A7RII's price came down from the stratosphere. But then Serhan made me a killer deal on his used A7II, and I couldn't resist. I'm happy that I went for it.

None of my primes have stabilization, so the IBIS gives me a significant hand-holding advantage in low light. The grip and shutter placement were a revelation to me, much better than expected. And the addition of an extra customization button next to the shutter has allowed me to configure the camera much more to my liking (I really dislike having to move the viewfinder from my eye while changing settings). The lens mount is noticeably less mushy. And the AF is significantly better. With the Contax G 90 and Techart adapter the difference really is night and day. I did have a few photos that were ruined by sensor flare on my old A7, so that concern is now gone.

Yes, when I held the two cameras at the same time, I could detect the difference in weight. But I have yet to find the extra weight a problem while carrying the A7II. I mean, we are talking only 4.4 ounces here. And there's no question in my mind that the little extra weight is well worth the additional benefits, as is the larger grip.

As I said, I had no intention of upgrading. There didn't seem to be enough benefits to justify the cost. But I was wrong.

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Gah... you're killing me!
So, when you say the AF is significantly better, does that also apply to native FE lenses? (I'm not crazy about the "hit" rate with the A7 - particularly in challenging light. If the 7ii is only subtly better I'd just as soon wait. But if it is indeed "significantly" better, that might really help tip the scales. That and maybe not having to buy the Sony 90mm macro to get stabilization. Does the IBIS help a lot with the 90mm?)

Gah... you're killing me!
So, when you say the AF is significantly better, does that also apply to native FE lenses?

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OK, when I wrote "significantly," I can't really say that I've noticed significantly better AF with my FE lenses. Though here's what DPReview had to say about it:

The A7 II uses the same hybrid AF system as the A7 with 117 phase-detect and 25 contrast points. Sony claims AF has been improved about 30% over its predecessor thanks to algorithm tweaks, and tracking has been improved 1.5x.

I have no idea what that means in terms of the kind of low-light images you like to shoot, Jeff. But I suspect not anything "significant." Mainly I was referring to AF with the Contax G 90, which went from annoying to impressive.

Does the IBIS help a lot with the 90mm?

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IBIS with the 90 has probably tripled my hit rate. That has been the biggest eye-opener for me with the A7II. And though I don't have any legacy MF primes anymore, I can see how IBIS would dramatically enhance their utility, especially longer lenses.

Believe me, I had an impressive array of convincing arguments as to why I would wait for the A7RII to get cheap enough, or the A7III to come out, before I moved on from this perfectly good A7. They all crumbled once the price got low enough. And almost two months later I have zero regrets.

I'm another in the minority where I fear the larger body and more weight. The upgrade from my nex-6 to my a7s was already more than I had anticipated, ironically the ergonomics are superior on my nex-6. I'm feeling the need for more resolution with the macro stuff I am doing lately and I have a choice, Buy an a7r used for about $1400aud or sell my a7s for about $2000aud and buy and a7rii. I know the new model is the better bet combining the best of both worlds for the most part but the extra size has me hesitating.

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